original text available via IUCN

Global coffee brands and environmental organizations support innovative program led by Cerrado Water Consortium

Sponsorship, Minas Gerais, Brazil, August 8, 2019 & #8211; An innovative and smart investment arrangement to protect biodiversity and water supplies in the country's central highlands began this month, according to the Cerrado Water Consortium, supported by some of the world's leading coffee brands and conservation organizations.

Based on an IUCN-led project and initial support from Nespresso, the major coffee brands Nestlé and Lavazza and trading company Expocaccer have now joined forces to make a five-year commitment to support the Cerrado das Águas Consortium initiative. Minas Gerais Cerrado, one of the main coffee growing areas in Brazil and a worldwide recognized biodiversity hotspot.

The Consortium plans to invest in protection of natural ecosystems found in 124 properties along the Feio River basin in the state of Minas Gerais, which is increasingly threatened by unsustainable land use, inefficient water use and climate change. The region is responsible for 12% of national coffee production.

& #8220; Promote the restoration and conservation of ecosystem services as insurance against climate change This important landscape is one of the main objectives of the investment program & #8221 ;, says Guilherme Amado, Nespresso manager in Brazil. & #8220; At the pilot site in Patrocinio, where the whole municipality and coffee growers depend on this single basin, farmers will also have a clear view of the degradation of ecosystem services on their farms and will receive professional advice and funding to make them resilient to climate change & #8221;

& #8220; Under the new investment program, landowners will be literally managers of environmental assets and its decisions to protect key ecosystem services & #8211; as native vegetation and streams & #8211; contribute directly to the restoration of the Cerrado landscape, ”says Giulia Carbone, Deputy Director of IUCN's Business and Biodiversity Program.

In the first year, the four companies pledged nearly US$ 100,000 to support the Consortium. In addition, it has received a donation of US$ 400,000, the largest to date, from Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF Cerrado) to implement the new scheme called Investment Program for Conscious Producers. This was the largest grant ever awarded by CEPF, which has donors such as the French Development Agency, Conservation International, the European Union, the World Environment Fund, the Government of Japan and the World Bank.

“Lavazza firmly believes that sustainability is a shared responsibility and that integrating economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection is the only paradigm that can create value. As a multi-stakeholder initiative, the Cerrado Water Consortium has demonstrated why companies need to take a long-term approach and contribute to the broader scenario we work in, ”says Mario Cerutti, Lavazza's Director of Institutional Relations and Sustainability.

The region of Cerrado It covers 21% of the country and 11 million hectares are in the state of Minas Gerais. Its biome is unique given the number of endemic species. In addition, the region provides 40% from fresh water 29 of the river basins are in “water conflict areas”, according to the Minas Gerais Institute for Water Management (IGAM).

 “Promote the restoration and conservation of ecosystem services as insurance against climate change is a fundamental objective of the investment program, ”says Miguel Moraes, senior director of Conservation International Brazil. “In Sponsorship, where the community and coffee farmers share the only river basin, farmers will be able to manage water flow for the first time. Producers will also have a clear view of the degradation of ecosystem services on their properties and will receive professional advice and funding to help make these services resilient to climate change. ”

All of these efforts are critical to restoring the landscape and ensuring that coffee value chains are sustainable. As Peggy Poncelet, grant director of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund says, “The goal is to achieve chemical-free restoration with native Cerrado species and to provide coffee growers with knowledge of smart farming practices and water management to reconcile coffee. sustainable production, and conservation of this important global biodiversity hotspot. For example, partnerships with local agroecological laboratories such as Emater (a public sector organization offering rural extension) will help to test new technologies to reduce weeds and disease incidence and ultimately restore the landscape. ”

About the Cerrado Water Consortium

Created in 2015, the Cerrado das Águas Consortium, a legally independent organization, is a platform that brings together companies, civil society organizations and government representatives to promote environmental development through landscape restoration and maintenance of Cerrado ecosystem services. . Consortium members include: CerVivo, Conservation International, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), Cooxupé, Expocaccer, Cerrado Coffee Growers Federation, IUCN, Lavazza, Nespresso and Nestlé.

For more information, visit the Cerrado das Águas Consortium website at site from IUCN.

Conscious Producers Awards Program - Restoring Cerrado Ecosystem Services

The project “Awards Program for Conscious Producers - Restoring Ecosystem Services in the Cerrado” is executed by Cerrado Mineiro Development Foundation (FUNDACCER). The central objective of the project is to establish and implement a strategy to restore the provision of ecosystem services in the basin of Ugly Stream in the long term through a process of engagement of local producers and actors. FUNDACCER is a non-profit organization created by the Coffee Growers Federation to promote research, training and social cohesion in 55 municipalities of the Cerrado mineiro. These coffee producers saw the need to act to ensure long-term climate security in the region. Thus, the Cerrado Water Consortium works collaboratively to build transformative scenarios that result in productive and sustainable landscapes with the goal of:

1. Improve soil and water management practices.
2. Promote the restoration of native vegetation and conservation of ecological corridors at the regional level.
3. Facilitate the exchange of information through technical extension services for farmers in order to improve environmental practices.
4. Encourage and facilitate the process of legal regularization of farms, seeking compliance with the Forest Code.
The project is supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund) and Brazilian International Institute of Education (IEB).

Learn more about Cerrado Water Consortium it's the Conscious Producer Program in the video below:

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The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund is a joint initiative of the French Development Agency, Conservation International, the European Union, Global Environmental Management, the Government of Japan and the World Bank. A key goal is to ensure that civil society is involved in biodiversity conservation.